We drove to the
Indianapolis Air Show last evening to see the Hot Air Balloon Glow. The weather was overcast, and the winds were near the edge to allow safe inflation and launch.We got there in time to see 3 or 4 balloons lift off, the remainder stayed grounded and prepared for the evening's Glow Show.
Capt. John is an enthusiastic promoter and educator of the sport of hot air ballooning. He has small children and parents gather around the basket, he ignites a small charge of propane (which in essence explodes with a great blast of sound and heat), takes his hand from the burner assembly and offers it to one of the younger audience members and explains "See it doesn't hurt, my hand is fine, it just gets hot and makes a lot of noise". He was happy to explain the nuances of the sport, and explained all questions in great easy to understand detail. He also allowed unprecedented access and coordinated his "show" with your pictures which allowed for a number of great one of a kind shots.
As Cindy and I stood behind this lady Cindy said to me "Do you know what I overheard at another balloonist's launch site? One guy said to the other, it's really great to have
Ferrell Gas as a sponsor for this event, but it's not really necessary. What they need to do is have a Washington politician stand in front of the inflation fan and give a speech, and these balloon's would inflate in no time. One politician could easily inflate two or three of these things all by themselves!"
That stopped this ground crew member in her tracks she turned with a smile and asked "What'd you say?"
"Fun"tastic piloted by Capt. John Ross doing a glow, one of only two balloons able to do so. Most other balloonist's "packed it in" before nightfall due to the earlier wind conditions.
